In the furniture industry, it is customary to package a piece of upholstered furniture (sometimes called a workpiece) by heat shrinking a heat shrinkable sheet of plastic about the workpiece. This is usually accomplished by draping a heat shrinkable plastic over the workpiece and then conveying the workpiece so draped into an enclosure (a furnace) where hot air (375.degree. F.) is blown against the plastic, causing it to shrink to and take the shape of the outside contour of the workpiece. Usually this process employs a conveyor integral with the furnace. This conveyor conveys the plastic draped workpiece into and then out of the furnace. Most furnaces used for this purpose employ a conveyor at least a part of which is made up of a plurality of spaced apart members positioned transverse to the longitudinal path of conveyor travel. The space between the members is required to allow the hot air to enter the enclosure. Hot air comes from the bottom of the furnace (under the conveyor), then into the furnace proper where it comes in contact with the plastic, causing the plastic to heat shrink about the workpiece. Because of the spaced apart nature of these members, a problem is created.
A great deal of furniture, having legs or feet, (sofas, chairs, loveseats for example), is packaged by the heat shrinking method. This type of furniture must be first loaded on pallets, then the loaded pallets hand placed on the furnace conveyor. If the pallets were not used, the feet or legs would become lodged in between the transverse members of the furnace conveyor and cause problems. After the loaded pallet is moved through the furnace and the heat shrinkable plastic packaging of the workpiece is completed, the packaged workpiece must be conveyed to a position outside of the furnace and removed from the pallet. Additionally, the pallet must be removed from the conveyor and conveyed back to its point of origin for reuse.
The prior art teaches that all of these pallet-workpiece operations are to be carried out by hand. This is inefficient and dangerous. Workman must handle the hot, just-packaged workpiece immediately after it emerges from the furnace. Such a practice exposes the workman to burns, not to mention the risk of injury to the packaged workpiece itself. Workmen may also be injured when lifting the packaged workpiece and/or the pallet. This invention automates all facets of the previously-mentioned process, relieving the workman from touching the hot, just-packaged workpiece, lifting and conveying either the packaged workpiece and/or the pallets.